JP2004078070A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the identification of display characters in a navigation system. <P>SOLUTION: Road map data are obtained and character data regarding characters to be displayed are inputted from mark data added to the road map data. Based upon class data representing names and kinds of administrative names, facility names, natural geographical names, etc., of the character data, font images of characters are determined and characters based upon the determined font images are read out of a memory part by using code data indicating the characters themselves. The read characters are displayed on a road map to display the names with the characters of the font images corresponding to the names and kinds, so that a user can easily identify various names. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a navigation device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventional navigation devices display various facility names, natural topographic names, road names, and the like, in addition to administrative district names such as the names of prefectures and municipalities on a road map. This character is stored in advance as an image image having a different font size or as outline font data, and the character is displayed using the image image or the outline font data.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Here, since the above-mentioned image image and outline font data display characters in one typeface (font image), the characters are emphasized or displayed differently for different types. Had to change the color or size of the letters.
[0004]
However, when the text color is changed, the color is changed for each type of road (toll road, national highway, prefectural road, city road, narrow street, etc.) on the road map. May be assimilated with the color of the road, resulting in poor visibility.
[0005]
Also, regarding the size and thickness of characters, it is difficult to change the size of characters to be displayed on an operation screen for setting and executing various functions of the navigation device such as a menu screen of the navigation device. Was.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device capable of easily identifying displayed characters in the navigation device.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising: a display control unit that acquires road map data and displays a road map on a display unit based on the acquired road map data. In order to display characters on a map, a character data storage unit that stores character data of a plurality of types of font images for each character is provided, and the display control unit should indicate a character displayed on a road map. Character data of a font image corresponding to the name type is read from the character data storage means and displayed on a road map.
[0008]
In this way, the character data of a plurality of types of font images are stored, and the names are displayed on the road map by the characters of the font image corresponding to the type of name to be displayed, such as the name of an administrative division, the name of a facility, or the name of a natural landform. Is displayed, the user can easily identify various names, and the character recognition rate can be improved.
[0009]
As described in claim 2, the road map data includes coordinate data indicating a position at which the character is to be displayed, class data corresponding to a name type to be indicated by the character, and code data indicating the character itself. Is added, and the display control means includes a storage means for storing a correspondence relationship between the class data corresponding to the name type and the font image. The display control means includes a name type based on the coordinate data, the class data, and the code data. Is preferably displayed on the road map according to the font image corresponding to. As described above, by referring to the class data corresponding to the name type, the font image can be changed for each name type and characters can be displayed.
[0010]
In this case, it is preferable that the correspondence between the class data and the font image can be changed by a user. Thereby, it is possible to perform character display that is easy for the user to identify.
[0011]
As described in claim 4, the road map data includes coordinate data indicating a position where the character is to be displayed, class data corresponding to a name type to be indicated by the character, and indicating the character itself. Code data and font data designating a font image of the character are added, and the display control means is configured to generate a font image corresponding to a name type based on the coordinate data, class data, code data, and font data. Characters may be displayed on a road map. That is, font data for specifying a font image may be provided as one of data for displaying characters on a road map.
[0012]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a navigation apparatus in which various operation items for operating the navigation apparatus are displayed on a display unit by characters, wherein a plurality of font images are used for each character to be displayed. Character data storage means for storing character data, and a plurality of types of font images stored in the character data storage means, when the various operation items are displayed, the character of the operation item to be highlighted Display control means for making the font image different from the font image of the character of the other operation item.
[0013]
As described above, when the operation items for operating the navigation device are displayed by characters, the font images are made different, so that the operation items to be highlighted can be easily identified.
[0014]
As described in claim 6, the operation item sets on / off of various functions of the navigation device, and the display control means highlights a character of the operation item whose function is turned on. Is preferred.
[0015]
In a navigation device, for example, when a traveling route of a vehicle deviates from a guidance route to a destination, a user can arbitrarily execute a function such as an automatic re-search function for automatically searching for a new guidance route. May be set. In such a case, if an item for which the function is turned on is displayed in a font image that is easy for the user to recognize on the setting screen for turning the function on / off, the user can easily distinguish the turned-on function from the turned-off function. Become.
[0016]
As described in claim 7, the operation item is to display a plurality of target names to be selected by characters, and the display control unit is configured to display the operation items respectively corresponding to the plurality of target names. It is preferable to highlight characters indicating the target name of the operation item to which the cursor is positioned.
[0017]
For example, when a destination is set from a genre such as a restaurant or a theme park, the prefecture to which the destination belongs is designated, or a facility to be the destination is selected from the list of target facilities. In such a case, if the name of the item to which the cursor is positioned is displayed in a font image that is easy for the user to recognize, the user can easily identify the item to be selected.
[0018]
As described in claim 8, it is preferable that the type of the font image to be highlighted can be selected by the user. Thereby, it is possible to perform character display that is easy for the user to identify.
[0019]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0020]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a navigation device according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device according to the present embodiment is connected to a position detection unit 1, a map data storage unit 2, a switch information input unit 3, a memory unit 5, a control unit 4 connected thereto, and a control unit 4. And a sound output unit 7.
[0021]
The position detection unit 1 includes a well-known geomagnetic sensor, a gyro sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and a GPS sensor that detects the position of the vehicle based on radio waves from satellites. These are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors, since each has an error having a different property. Note that, depending on the accuracy of each sensor, the position detection unit 1 may be configured by some of the above-described sensors.
[0022]
The map data storage unit 2 is for inputting various map data such as road data and landmark data to the control unit 4. The map data storage unit 2 includes a storage medium for storing various map data. As the storage medium, a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM is generally used because of its data amount. Such a medium may be used. Further, the map data storage unit 2 may be a communication device that communicates with an external server or the like, and may acquire map data stored in the external server or the like through communication.
[0023]
The switch information input unit 3 includes, for example, a mechanical switch provided around the display unit 6 and a touch switch integrated with the display unit 6, and is used for various inputs. For example, the navigation device according to the present embodiment has a so-called route guidance function, and when a destination is input by the switch information input unit 3, an optimal route to the destination is automatically selected with the current position as a departure point. Thus, a traveling route is formed, and the voice output unit 7 and the display unit 10 provide guidance according to the traveling route.
[0024]
The display unit 6 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display. On the screen of the display unit 6, a road map around the current position is displayed together with the own vehicle mark based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector 1 and the map data input from the map data storage unit 2. A selection screen for selecting a destination, a setting screen for setting on / off of various functions of the navigation device, and the like are displayed.
[0025]
The memory unit 5 stores character data used when displaying a road map on the display unit 6 or displaying a selection / setting screen. This character data includes data represented by a plurality of types of font images for each character, for example, a square typeface, a Mincho typeface, a square Gothic typeface, and a round Gothic typeface. This makes it possible to change the font image of the character to be displayed.
[0026]
The audio output unit 7 is configured by a speaker, and outputs audio for route guidance and audio for explaining operation of the navigation device.
[0027]
The control unit 4 is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, input / output circuit, and a bus line connecting these components. A program to be executed by the in-vehicle navigation device is written in the ROM, and the CPU executes predetermined arithmetic processing according to the program. In FIG. 1, the main functions executed by the control unit 4 are displayed as functional block diagrams. That is, the control unit 4 includes a map data acquisition unit 10, a map matching unit 11, a route calculation unit 12, a route guidance unit 13, a drawing unit 14, and a screen control management unit 15.
[0028]
The map data acquisition unit 10 usually acquires map data including the current position detected by the position detection unit 1 from the map data storage unit 2 and provides the map data to the screen control management unit 15. The screen control management unit 15 instructs the drawing unit 14 to display a road map around the current position on the display unit 6 together with the own vehicle mark indicating the current position. Then, as the vehicle travels, the travel locus of the vehicle is accumulated in the map matching unit 11, and the map matching unit 11 compares the travel locus of the vehicle with the shape of the road. When it is determined based on this collation that the own vehicle position displayed on the display unit 6 is shifted from the actual vehicle position, the map matching unit 11 provides the screen control management unit 15 with the correct own vehicle position. Accordingly, the screen control management unit 15 instructs the drawing unit 14 to correct the position of the own vehicle displayed on the display unit 6.
[0029]
When a destination is input by the switch information input unit 3, the route calculation unit 12 creates an optimal route from the current position to the destination. At this time, the map data acquisition unit 10 acquires map data from the current position to the destination from the map data storage unit 2, and the route calculation unit 12 applies a known method such as the Dijkstra method to the map data. To create an optimal route. The created optimal route is provided to the route guide unit 13. The route guidance unit 13 instructs the screen control management unit 15 to identify and display the road corresponding to the created optimum route in a specific color on the road map displayed on the display unit 6. Further, a guidance point such as an intersection at which a right or left turn is to be made is calculated, and a voice signal is output to the voice output unit 7 to notify the guidance point by voice. In addition, information on the guide point is provided to the screen control management unit 15, and the screen control management unit 15 gives an instruction to the drawing unit 14 to display an enlarged view near the intersection or a schematic view of the expressway on the display unit 6.
[0030]
Next, display control of characters related to a characteristic portion in the present embodiment will be described in detail.
(1) When displaying administrative division names, facility names, etc. on a road map in characters When displaying administrative division names (names related to addresses), facility names, etc. on a road map in characters, conventionally, FIG. As shown in (1), one typeface (font image) is displayed while appropriately changing the size and color of the character. However, when the color of the text is simply changed, if a character having a similar color to the color of the line indicating the road or the facility is displayed crossing the line, the character becomes difficult to read. Also, even if the size of the characters was changed, the typeface was the same, so the user could identify at a glance which type of name such as an administrative division name or facility name was displayed. It was difficult to do.
[0031]
Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the font image of the character is changed according to the name type such as the administrative division name, the facility name, and the natural landform name. In the display example of FIG. 4, the name related to the address is displayed in a font of a square font, the name related to natural terrain is displayed in a font of a Mincho font image, and the name related to the facility name is displayed in a font of a Gothic font. Have been. Thereby, the user can grasp at a glance the name type indicated by each character, and can easily identify each character. Hereinafter, the process for changing the font image according to the name type will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0032]
In step S10, map data to be displayed on the display unit 6 is fetched from the map data storage unit 2. Data relating to names to be displayed on the road map is added to the map data as landmark data. Here, the data relating to the name includes coordinate data indicating the position where the name is to be displayed, class data indicating the type of the name, and code data indicating the characters constituting the name.
[0033]
In step S20, data relating to the name added to the map data is fetched. Then, in step S30, the font image is determined with reference to the correspondence between the class data indicating the name type and the font image. Then, the character based on the determined font image is read out from the memory 5 based on the code data indicating the character itself constituting the name. The correspondence between the class data and the font image is predetermined and stored in the memory 5. Further, the correspondence may be arbitrarily changeable by a user. In this case, the name can be displayed on the road map according to the user's preference.
[0034]
In step 40, the characters read in step 30 are displayed on the road map based on the map data fetched in step 10 based on the coordinate data.
[0035]
The above-described process of displaying the characters on the road map is performed by the screen control management unit 15 of the control unit 4 shown in FIG.
[0036]
Through such processing, it is possible to display a name on a road map in which the font image of a character is changed according to the name type such as an administrative division name, a facility name, or a natural terrain name.
{Circle around (2)} When a plurality of names are displayed in a list In a navigation device, for example, when a destination is set from a genre such as a restaurant or a theme park, a city to which the facility to be the destination belongs is determined from the names of prefectures displayed in the list. Specify a prefecture name or select a destination facility from the list of target facilities. In such a case, in the conventional navigation device, as shown in FIG. 5, the entire frame surrounding the name (prefecture name or the like) where the cursor is placed is simply colored in a different color from the frame surrounding other names. By doing so, the item at the cursor is identified and displayed. Then, when the enter button or the like is pressed, the name with the cursor is selected.
[0037]
In the present embodiment, similarly to the example (1) described above, the font image of the character displaying the name of the item at the cursor is different from the font image of the character displaying the other name, so that the cursor matches. It is intended to improve the visibility of the displayed characters having the given name and make it easier for the user to identify. For example, in the display example of FIG. 6, the entire frame surrounding the name (prefecture name or the like) where the cursor is located is colored in a different color or the like from the frame surrounding the other names, and the font of the character displaying the name is displayed. The image is a Gothic font and the font image of the characters that display other object names is a Mincho font, and the character of the item at the cursor is highlighted compared to other characters.
[0038]
In order to perform such display, in accordance with the movement of the cursor, the character to which the cursor is set is read out from the memory 5 in character data in Gothic typeface and displayed on the display unit 6, and the other characters are displayed in clear. What is necessary is just to read and display the character data of the morning typeface. Such a change of the font image of the display character is also performed by the screen control management unit 15.
(3) In the case of a screen for setting on / off of various functions of the navigation device In the navigation device, for example, when a traveling route of a vehicle deviates from a guidance route to a destination, a new guidance route is automatically set. There is a function that allows the user to arbitrarily set whether or not to execute the function, such as an automatic re-search function for performing a search. FIG. 7 shows a conventional example of this setting screen. In the setting screen of FIG. 7, only the display column of “Yes” is colored for the function turned on, and the display column of “No” is colored for the function turned off.
[0039]
In the present embodiment, in the items indicating various functions, the font image of the character indicating the turned-on function is made different from the font image of the character indicating the turned-off function, thereby making it easier to grasp the turned-on function. For example, in the display example shown in FIG. 8, characters indicating an on function are displayed in a Gothic typeface, and characters indicating an off function are displayed in a Mincho typeface. Highlighted. This makes it easier for the user to distinguish between the function that was turned on and the function that was turned off.
[0040]
In order to perform such a display, when on / off is set using a touch switch or the like for each function item, the characters indicating the turned on function are displayed in Gothic font from the memory 5. Characters that are read out and displayed and the functions that are turned off may be read out and displayed in Mincho typeface.
[0041]
In the above cases (2) and (3), a font image for highlighting may be set in advance, or the user may arbitrarily change the font image. When the change can be performed by the user, character display that is easy to identify for each user can be performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a display control process of characters displayed on a road map.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of characters on a road map according to a conventional example.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of characters on a road map according to the embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example in a case where a list of target items to be selected is displayed according to a conventional example.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example when a list of target items to be selected is displayed according to the embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of a screen for setting on / off of various functions of a navigation device according to a conventional example.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a screen for setting on / off of various functions of the navigation device according to the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Position detection part 2 Map data storage part 3 Switch information input part 4 Control part 5 Memory part 6 Display part 7 Audio output part 10 Map data acquisition part 11 Map matching part 12 Route calculation part 13 Route guidance part 14 Drawing part 15 Screen control Management Department

Claims (8)

In the in-vehicle navigation device having display control means for displaying a road map on a display unit based on the obtained road map data while acquiring the road map data,
In order to display characters on the road map in the display unit, the display unit includes character data storage means for storing character data of a plurality of types of font images for each character,
The navigation device reads the character data of a font image corresponding to a name type to be indicated by a character displayed on a road map from the character data storage unit and displays the character data on the road map. . In the road map data, coordinate data indicating a position where the character should be displayed, class data corresponding to a name type to be indicated by the character, and code data indicating the character itself are added.
The display control means includes storage means for storing a correspondence between the class data corresponding to the name type and the font image, and based on the coordinate data, the class data, and the code data, a font image corresponding to the name type. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein characters are displayed on a road map. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the correspondence between the class data and the font image can be changed by a user. The road map data specifies coordinate data indicating a position where the character should be displayed, class data corresponding to a name type to be indicated by the character, code data indicating the character itself, and a font image of the character. Font data to be added,
2. The navigation according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays characters of a font image corresponding to a name type on a road map based on the coordinate data, the class data, the code data, and the font data. apparatus. In a navigation device in which various operation items for operating the navigation device are displayed on a display unit by characters,
Character data storage means for storing character data of a plurality of types of font images for each character to be displayed;
When the various operation items are displayed using the plurality of types of font images stored in the character data storage means, the font image of the character of the operation item to be highlighted is changed to the font of the character of another operation item. A navigation device comprising: display control means for making the image different from the image. The operation items are for setting on / off of various functions of the navigation device,
The navigation device according to claim 5, wherein the display control unit highlights a character of the operation item whose function is turned on. The operation item is to display a plurality of target names to be selected in characters,
6. The navigation according to claim 5, wherein the display control means highlights a character indicating the target name of the operation item at which the cursor is positioned, among the operation items corresponding to the plurality of target names. apparatus. 8. The navigation device according to claim 5, wherein the type of the font image to be highlighted is selectable by a user.

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